The smile, the wink, el hombre
by Mascalzone Latino
Summary: There was something about Alberto Del Rio that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Rating subject to change!
1. Chapter 1

_I happened to watch this weeks Backstage Fallout where Renee Young asked Alberto Del Rio about Rob Van Dam and the World Heavyweight Championship. At the end, he smiled at Renee, winked at her and kissed the title before looking back at her as he walked off. All the while, she had a smile on her face, briefly closing her eyes before looking at Alberto again. So I got to thinking…_

_I may also end up rewriting this too because I'm still not 100% satisfied with it but we'll see._

* * *

There was something about Alberto Del Rio that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Was it the way he carried himself both inside and outside the ring? Was it the fact that he oozed arrogance and cockiness? Was it the fact that he knew he was damn good at what he was doing?

Maybe it was all three of those things.

Whenever he referred to her as a _'little girl'_ during any interviews she conducted, she couldn't help but look away and smile briefly before looking back at Alberto. Even when he was insulting his opponents or sometimes her, Renee managed to keep a straight face, knowing that it was simply part and parcel of her job to take any insults directed at her. Although she would admit this to herself, if it had been anyone other than Alberto perhaps, she wouldn't exactly be smiling. Hell, if anyone other than Alberto referred to her as a _'little girl'_ during interviews, she wouldn't exactly be happy.

She recalled the smile - the genuine smile - that graced his face as she asked about whether his attack on Rob Van Dam was simply a part of his plan leading into his title defence at Battleground. He then said something in Spanish that went completely over her head before referring to her as a _'little girl'_ again, making her look away briefly with a smile on her face before looking back at Alberto.

She kept her gaze on him as he continued to talk about Rob Van Dam, saying that he was going to know who his 'El Patron' was but when he moved the World Heavyweight Championship from his shoulder to hold it in front of Renee, she couldn't help but watch him do that, casting her gaze back to Alberto who smiled before winking at her and kissing the title. He then took his leave of her, not before he cast another glance her way.

Renee finished the segment by letting people know that they would keep everyone updated if there were any more attacks on Rob Van Dam in the days leading up to Battleground. Once it had ended, she found herself thankful that they were outside during the segment.

Very thankful.


	2. Chapter 2

_Here I am with Chapter Two! It's a little late but better late than never, right? Hopefully, Chapter Three won't take me as long to upload as this one did. I may even see if I can write some of this for NaNoWriMo next month too._

Alberto was still feeling the after effects of the post-match beatdown from RVD and his former ring announcer. He knew that he would be feeling the effects of the Van Terminator for a while yet and he still couldn't believe that RVD had the nerve to pose with _his _World Heavyweight Championship title. It was almost as if the man thought there was a very real chance that he would be walking out of Battleground with the title. But Alberto, like many others, had heard the rumours that RVD was going to take a break after the PPV. He couldn't help but smirk a little as he thought about the other side of the coin - retaining his title. Which he would, of course. He had no doubt that he would.

"Hardcore match, huh?"

That voice brought Alberto back to reality. He could still remember being interviewed by Renee at Raw the previous night - the genuine smile he gave her at some point, him kissing the title in front of her, winking at her before taking his leave of her.

"What do you mean, _little girl_? Hardcore match?"

Renee smiled sheepishly before looking away briefly. This wasn't what she was meant to do but she wanted to do it anyway. She wanted to see Alberto again. She had watched his match - as brief as it was - and saw Vickie Guerrero talking with Triple H about what had transpired afterwards

"They've added a stipulation to your match at Battleground. Hardcore Rules. Vickie thought about spicing up the match somewhat and yeah...that's what they came up with. Hardcore."

Alberto laughed a little, shaking his head at the same time. Of course, they'd make the match at Battleground into something that would work in RVD's favour! But they didn't realise that if Alberto was in a particular type of match for the first time, he tended to thrive in it. Hell in a Cell 2011 anyone? Did that ring any bells?

He glanced at the title that was resting on his shoulder, breathing on it a little before rubbing at an imaginary dirty spot then looking at Renee.

"Hey, hey, hey, I have no problem with that. If RVD can give it, surely that means that he can take it, right?"

Renee shrugged her shoulders in response. She was mentally filing this all away in case she had to interview Alberto at a later date either on Raw or Smackdown or for an exclusive on the WWE App.

"Don't say you weren't warned."

Alberto smiled another of his genuine smiles before looking back at Renee, taking in the shy smile that was on her face.

"Are you worried about me, _little girl_? I'm a big boy. I can handle anything that RVD will throw my way. I handled R-Truth out there."

"I'm sure you can, Alberto. I'm sure you can."

Alberto watched as Renee looked down at her watch and realised she needed to be somewhere else. He indicated that he was fine with Renee taking her leave of him but not before he threw another wink her way. He watched as she looked away before looking back at him and leaving. He could get used to teasing her with his wink, he thought.

The following week at Raw, Alberto learned that he was to have a match with Zack Ryder. He rolled his eyes a little in disgust but set about his usual pre-match routine, visualising what he wanted to happen in the match - and how he was going to win it of course!

The match itself went back and forth, with both men getting in some offence. The match even went outside the ring for a little while before Alberto threw Zack back into the squared circle, attempting a cover only for Zack to kick out at two. The fire that seemingly was only smouldering now burst into full flame as Alberto pulled out every trick in the book that he could think of, trying to end the match as quick as he could. Zack still had some fire left in him as he mounted some offence again but when Alberto started attacking his arm, he knew he had the match won. All he had to do was lock in the cross armbreaker and Zack would tap out.

_Victoria!_

That was exactly what happened.

Alberto made his way back to the locker room, doing his post-match routine of showering, dressing and making sure he looked perfect. He meandered through the hallways with his cases, trying to find an exit that would lead out to the car park before stopping when he saw Renee with RVD. Making himself comfortable by leaning against a wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest, Alberto stood there, watching the scene in front of him unfold. He was curious to hear what RVD had to say for himself during the interview.

He caught a glimpse of a video on a nearby TV and he watched it with some degree of curiousity but he was a little worried for his own wellbeing. It was a video of RVD's 10 most extreme moments and he would have to agree that they were somewhat extreme, given that the man had competed in ECW for a number of years. RVD wanted to show them rather than talk about them. Alberto smirked when he heard RVD refer to him as vicious and sadistic. _That is so true, perro. If you thought I was vicious and sadistic when I beat up Ricardo, just you wait and see until Battleground, where you will learn just how vicious and sadistic I really can be!_

RVD continued to talk up his chances at Battleground before ending the interview by saying that the meaning of hardcore was the same in any language. R...V...D. That made Alberto roll his eyes in disgust. He knew that RVD had to hype himself up as the type of guy who would excel in a hardcore match

He screwed up his face at RVD as he left Renee on her own. He waited until it was just the two of them, taking in the rather serene look on her face, before pushing himself away from the wall, slowly heading over to where Renee stood.

"Rob...Van...Dam, that was a horrible promo."

Renee looked up and froze a little when she saw Alberto heading her way. The word vicious leaped into her mind at that point of time - because it described Alberto perfectly and she mentally thanked RVD for using it. He was vicious. And why did he have to look so freaking..._male?_

"Wouldn't you agree, _little girl_?"

Renee shrugged her shoulders in response, surprised to learn that Alberto had been watching her the whole time. She didn't know whether to be creeped out by it or not.

"Come on, you can tell me. I'm not going to tell him just what you said. We're not exactly the best of friends, you know."

Renee knew the latter part was true but she wasn't so sure about the former. Telling Alberto something was one thing but she couldn't guarantee that he would be true to his word and not tell anyone. Belatedly remembering that she still held onto her microphone, she placed it on a small table nearby, all the while keeping her gaze on the man known as the Essence of Excellence.

"Besides, I'd be showing him exactly what I thought of it. I'm a man of actions, not words."

Renee had no doubt that Alberto would do just that. She supposed that she should be scared of him because of his vicious and sadistic nature but for some reason, she wasn't.

"Anyway, it did sound to me that he forgot what he was going to say at one point. Did it sound like that to you?"

"Well, I can't say yes but I can't say no, you know? I have to stay professional."

Alberto made a gesture with his hands that told Renee that he understood. Still, his curiousity had been piqued though.

"If you change your mind about telling me, look out for me tomorrow. I'll be around somewhere. _Adios_."

Alberto winked at Renee again and watched her response before smiling and taking his leave of her. As he walked away, having suddenly seen a sign that pointed in the direction of the car park, he could still feel Renee's gaze on him which make him smirk a little. Even though he didn't know Renee all that well, he felt that she was starting to be affected by him a little. It may have only been a little but that was enough for Alberto to know that he was starting to get under her skin.


	3. Chapter 3

_Just thought I should let you know that if you see any Spanish in this work of mine, for the most part it's from Google Translate. I will be studying Spanish extramurally through a university next year so until then, Google Translate will be my friend. Also, many thanks to tiarashine and coolcool02 for your reviews - they are definitely appreciated!_

* * *

The following day at the Smackdown taping, Renee learned that she was due to interview Alberto before his match with Dolph Ziggler. She knew that she had to ask Alberto about his own post-match beatdown from RVD and she'd be the first to admit that she was a little nervous about what was going to happen - during the interview, during Alberto's match and afterwards.

She thought about what had happened the previous night at Raw. She had been surprised when she learned Alberto had seen the interview with RVD in its entirety and he did try to get her to say what she really thought about the interview. She had been neutral, not saying yes and not saying no either but she knew that if she had told Alberto what she really did think, he wouldn't tell RVD. As Alberto had said himself, they weren't exactly the best of friends and that he'd rather show RVD what he thought of his interview. Perhaps he was still a bit annoyed that Ricardo had now aligned himself with the high flyer.

Alberto saw Renee long before she saw him. He took in the not quite serene look on her face and thought that perhaps she was thinking about what to ask him during the interview. Hell, she could've been thinking about whether she'd be honest with him about her RVD interview!

"_Buenas tardes,_ _little girl._"

Upon hearing those words, Renee looked up in the direction that they came from and couldn't help but smile when she saw Alberto. The scarf - white this time, as opposed to the black one he had been using recently - was once again around his neck and he wore the World Heavyweight Championship proudly around his waist. He was all ready for his match with Dolph Ziggler but first, she had to interview him.

She put her professional face on and asked Alberto if he had seen just what RVD had done to Fandango earlier that night. She knew it was likely that he had seen it as it seemed that he was the type of competitor who watched everything an opponent did, in order to determine if they had any weaknesses and if they did, learn how to exploit said weaknesses.

He confirmed that he had seen what had transpired between RVD and Fandango. RVD had used a trash can on his opponent and Alberto remarked that he, too, would use a trash can to put RVD in it and send him back to the garbage dump where he belonged. He seemed proud to have said that too, Renee noted as she took in the smile on his face.

She then asked him if he was concerned that Dolph Ziggler might eat into his momentum during their match. The look on his face was a classic one but before he could say what he wanted to say about Dolph _Zeegler_, they were interrupted by someone who told Alberto that they had something for him from RVD. The something happened to be the trash can he had used on Fandango.

Alberto took the trash can and looked it briefly before looking at Renee and back to the trash can. She stepped back a little, not sure just what Alberto was going to do. Was it possible that he was perhaps a little concerned for her? She watched as he stared at the trash can for several seconds, casting another glance at her, before muttering something in Spanish that completely went over her head and throwing the trash can to the floor in disgust and stalking off.

Renee knew that it was just RVD trying to get into Alberto's head before their PPV match, trying to upset him. It was something that Alberto would happily do also. If anything, though, that little scene would light a fire underneath Alberto and that he'd take his aggression out on the man who had defeated him for the World Heavyweight Championship the night after Wrestlemania - Dolph _Zeegler. _That would have to do until the PPV on Sunday.

Renee was surprised to see Damien Sandow sitting in on commentary for the match, his Money In The Bank briefcase close by. Alberto had to be aware of him being there, possibly waiting for him to slip up so he could take advantage and cash in his contract. But no, Damien proclaimed that he would cash in the noble way and that nobility would be up to his own discretion.

Alberto's match went back and forth several times, with both men gaining the upper hand only to be brought back down to earth. It was obvious that they knew each other well and could play off that, make the match into something that the fans would be talking about for a while afterwards. After all, they had both pulled off turns at Payback in probably one of the best matches that night.

Renee watched as Alberto once again locked in the cross armbreaker, which resulted in a submission victory for him. She let out a breath that she wasn't aware she was holding as he was officially decared the winner but she waited a few seconds to see if Damien was going to cash in and was relieved to learn that he wouldn't do that for now.

Finding a free TV somewhere backstage, Renee found a chair and placed it in front of the TV, sitting down with the intention of taking in the rest of the show. She figured that it wouldn't last for too much longer then she'd be able to get to her hotel room and sleep. The more she thought about it, the more she was looking forward to it.

"_Buenas tardes,_ _little girl._"

Renee had been, for lack of a better phrase, away with the fairies and she jumped a little when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She knew who her visitor was because there wasn't anyone else on the WWE roster who would refer to her as _little girl._ She stood up and turned to face Alberto.

"Good evening...Or would it be good night?"

"It can be both."

Thinking about what Alberto had said, Renee nodded in agreement. She took in the look on his face and wondered what he had in store for her.

"You're planning something."

"Whatever gave you that idea, _little girl_?"

"The look on your face. It's the 'I'm planning something and I can't hide the fact' look."

Alberto made a gesture that told Renee that she was indeed on the right track when it came to that. He looked at her with a genuine smile on his face before moving a little closer to her, making her heartrate elevate slightly.

"Hey, you got me. Yes, I'm planning something and you're involved."

She was involved? Renee wasn't really liking the sound of this.

"Relax, _little girl_. I'm not going to ask you to do anything extreme. Like...I don't know...running around naked maybe."

Renee couldn't help but laugh. That was one thing that she definitely wouldn't do, even if someone wanted to give her $10,000,000 for doing it. Alberto, too, was laughing as he placed his hand on her shoulder again.

"Remember what I said last night about that RVD promo?"

Renee looked away briefly before looking back at Alberto as she remembered. Suddenly, she knew that he was going to ask her again exactly what she thought of it and that he probably wouldn't leave it or her alone until she answered him.

"You asked me if I agreed it was horrible."

Alberto nodded, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"And you said something about him possibly forgetting what he was going to say."

Alberto nodded again, looking at Renee curiously.

"Like I said last night, I'm not going to tell him what you said. I'm not that mean. Well, I can be if I want to be but I don't want to be mean to you."

Letting out a breath, Renee quickly weighed up the pros and cons of telling Alberto what he was curious to learn. Looking around to make sure that they were the only two people around, she motioned for Alberto to lean down a little. She didn't want anyone else to hear what she was about to say.

As Renee whispered in his ear, Alberto felt his upper lip curl a little before a smile graced his face. He definitely wouldn't say anything about this to anyone. It would be a secret between him and his _little girl_.

"Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that."

Renee smiled sheepishly at Alberto, suddenly unsure if telling what she thought was the right thing to do before looking away. She felt Alberto take her chin in his hand and made her look at him.

"With you, I'm a man of my word. I told you that I won't tell RVD precisely what you thought about that promo and I won't. I assure you that I won't."

Something in Alberto's voice told Renee that he was being sincere. Hell, even the look he was giving her was telling her that too.

"I don't know about you but I'm tired and I could surely do with a few hours sleep."

Renee nodded, showing that she was getting tired by yawning rather loudly. She covered her mouth with her hand, seemingly embarrassed that she had shown Alberto just how tired she actually was. Alberto chuckled a little before saying something.

"Yes, _little girl_, you are tired. How about you go get your things and I meet you over by that exit over there?" Alberto pointed to his right. "I'll make sure you get to your rental safe and sound."

Renee nodded in agreement and headed to the locker room where her things were, all the while thinking that Alberto was acting like a true gentleman - nothing like how he acted in the ring. She didn't know whether to be creeped out by the fact that he was insisting on escorting her to her rental but she figured that she should be at least grateful that he was doing that.

On impulse, she glanced in the mirror, readjusting her hair slightly before grasping the handle of her case and leaving the locker room, walking to the exit where Alberto had said he'd meet her. She didn't have to wait long for Alberto to arrive, his customary scarf around his neck as per usual.

He opened the door that lead into the car park and motioned for Renee to go through first. She did just that and waited a couple of seconds before Alberto made his way to her side. They didn't really talk until they had reached Renee's rental. She put her case on the back seat before opening the driver's door but she didn't get in straight away.

"I guess I'll be seeing you at the PPV then."

Alberto nodded. As much as he found he didn't want to let her go, he knew that he had to. Just as Renee was about to get into her rental, he took her hand in his, making Renee turn to face him again. He hated the look of concern that graced her face but he could only think of one thing that would take that look away.

Alberto took Renee's chin in his hand and he leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek.

"Dulces sueños, _little girl._"


	4. Chapter 4

_I got ahead of myself and started writing a lot of the post-Hell in a Cell chapter before this one - whoops! I have a feeling that the post-Hell in a Cell chapter is going to be a long one (for me at least - it's currently nearly at 2,000 words). Once again, many thanks to those of you who have reviewed so far: tiarashine, coolcool02 and Emily Barrett - your reviews are definitely appreciated._

_Ricardo may feature in later chapters - I haven't yet decided if he will or not._

* * *

Battleground day had arrived. Renee was going to be there regardless, in case she was required to conduct any interviews with various superstars. She would be watching the matches with interest, some matches more than others. She mentally fixed that last thought that entered her head. There was one match that she would be watching with particular interest.

She still found herself thinking about what Alberto had said to her at the arena on Tuesday after the Smackdown taping. Looking up the meaning of _dulces sueños_, she smiled when she saw what it meant. She still didn't know just how she managed to get to sleep that night because all she could picture and hear was Alberto kissing her cheek and saying _dulces sueños_ to her.

It was different seeing the Alberto who was kind to her, being a gentleman by letting her leave the arena before him and escorting her to her rental. This Alberto was completely different to the Alberto in the ring, who looked down upon everyone, referred to them as peasants and was prepared to do anything to win and retain his title, like purposely ignoring the referee's five-count to get himself disqualified at Night of Champions. She knew it meant that RVD had technically won the match but Alberto retained the title. She reasoned with herself that she was lucky to see the other side of Alberto - not many people would believe that he was capable of being a gentleman anyway.

Meandering around backstage, Renee wasn't really paying a lot of attention to where she was going until she literally bumped into someone. She felt them grasp her arms to prevent her from falling to the floor in a heap and she looked up to see that it was Alberto.

"Well, well, well, _little girl_, fancy bumping into you here."

Thankfully, Alberto had an amused look on his face which made Renee sigh in relief. She couldn't help but smile a little when he winked at her. She hated to think how Alberto would react if he ever saw her fangirling over his winks.

"Yeah, fancy that."

Alberto let go of Renee's arms and readjusted the sleeves of the shirt she was wearing before looking at her again.

"I do hope that you're going to watch my match tonight."

"Of course. I watch them all. Some more so than others."

Renee watched as Alberto smirked in response.

"So you will be watching my match then."

"I will be."

Alberto nodded. But he had a look on his face that Renee recognised from the night of the Smackdown taping - he was planning something. She knew he was.

"Naturally, I should hope that you will be supporting me in my match."

Renee nodded in response. That seemed to satisfy Alberto and he nodded back.

"I guess I'll be seeing you afterwards then."

"I guess so. Good luck."

Renee smiled at Alberto before he took his leave of her. His match was next up so with that in mind, she set about finding a TV nearby where she could watch the match in relative peace and quiet.

Being a hardcore match, she knew that weapons could and would be used but there were parts of the match that had Renee cringing - Alberto being Irish whipped into a ladder in the corner face first, being body slammed onto a ladder, having Rob Van Dam do a Five Star Frog Splash onto a ladder that was on top of Alberto as he lay outside the ring, a potential Van Terminator that Alberto managed to avoid which led to him to set up a chair with the intent of using it on RVD who avoided his attack by performing a jaw breaker. RVD then charged at Alberto who successfully avoided the attempted charge by drop toe-holding RVD onto the waiting chair. He then kicked the chair into RVD's face before wrapping it around his arm, stomping on it several times and applying his patented cross armbreaker for as long as it took for RVD to tap out, thus gaining the victory and retaining the title.

Despite the crowd chanting "We want tables!" at some point during the match, no tables were used, which disappointed Renee a little. It wasn't a true hardcore match if no tables had been used. Well, to her, anyway. But Alberto had come out on top, proving to everyone that despite the fact he had rarely been in a hardcore match, he could hold his own in it.

She didn't see him again until Raw the following evening. Renee watched as Alberto spoke to Vickie Guerrero, wanting to know if she was going to name him the new face of the company, seeing that he was the only champion they had. He remarked that he had been hoping to have the night off but understood that the fans needed to see their champion and hoped that she would find the right opponent for him that night. After playing up to her, he gave her a kiss on the cheek and his scarf.

He didn't see Vickie's smile disappear before she dropped the scarf to the ground. It was obvious to Renee that she wasn't impressed with Alberto's flirting and she found herself wondering just how Vickie was going to react. She didn't have to wait long.

She watched as Alberto confidently made his way to the ring, waiting to see who he would be competing against. When Vickie announced that his opponent would be his former ring announcer, Alberto was clearly happy, wanting nothing more than to get his revenge on Ricardo for the attack on him the previous evening. Already mentally planning how he was going to defeat Ricardo, Alberto was thrown for a loop when Vickie announces that he'll be defending his title at Hell in a Cell against a returning John Cena.

He didn't have time to absorb the news before Ricardo dropkicked him into the ropes and quickly gained a roll-up victory. Ricardo started celebrating on the announce table and Renee watched as Alberto took Ricardo's legs out from under him and begin a vicious attack, which ended the same as his PPV match - placing a chair on his opponent's left arm and locking on the cross armbreaker.

Finding where Alberto had spoken to Vickie earlier, Renee spied the discarded scarf on the ground. She picked it up, knowing damn well that she wanted to give it back to Alberto after witnessing how Vickie had carelessly discarded it and she closed her eyes when she took in the faint scent of Alberto's aftershave. If she ever smelled that particular scent again, it would forever make her think of Alberto.

Walking back to the locker room where her case was, she came across Alberto on his way to the car park, still somewhat upset about what had transpired for him on Raw. Deciding to leave her case where it was, Renee made her way over to Alberto.

"I think you might've forgotten something."

Looking up, the look of disgust that was on Alberto's face changed when he saw Renee with something in her hands. As he glanced at it, he realised that it was the scarf he had given to Vickie earlier in the show. It was obvious to Renee that Alberto wanted to know how and why Renee had ended up with it.

"When you left her office, I saw that she dropped it."

A confused look found its way onto Alberto's face. He had been flirting with the Smackdown GM, primarily to get himself into her good books and thought that perhaps a goodwill gift would also help him on that path. But as he mentally went over what he had done, he realised that it probably wasn't the best idea he'd ever have.

"So I thought you might want it back."

Renee held out the scarf and Alberto let go of the handle of his case before reaching out for the scarf, deliberately brushing his fingers against hers. He could tell that she was a little affected by him, judging by the sharp intake of breath, but that didn't really bother him that much at that point of time.

He held it as he would before wrapping it around his neck and started to do just that but then, a thought entered his mind. He smiled at Renee before placing the scarf around her own neck, adjusting it so, waiting to see if she would pull a Vickie and drop it on the floor. She started playing with the ends of the scarf before looking back up at Alberto.

"No, _little girl_, you can have it. I know you'll treat it with more respect than Vickie."

Once again, he leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek, lingering a little.

"I should've done that to you instead of her, too."


	5. Chapter 5

With Alberto's scarf wrapped firmly around her neck and a hand holding it in place, Renee watched as Vickie Guerrero made her way to the ring, surrounded by a usual chorus of boos. A recap of Alberto flirting with the Smackdown GM started to play, along with her announcement that Alberto would face a returning John Cena at Hell in a Cell for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Vickie started talking about how they all witnessed an atrocity on the previous Raw before she started talking about Big Show and how his problems had just begun, his house was now up for sale and that he was now unemployed. Alberto walked out to the ring, making Vickie change the subject quickly.

He looked dangerous, almost vicious. Renee smiled a little as that word entered her mind. She mentally thanked RVD for putting it into her mind as the perfect word to describe Alberto.

He was imploring Vickie, saying that there must be something he could do in order to get her to change her mind about the match at Hell in a Cell. Quick as a flash, she asked him if he really meant what he said to her on Raw - that she was sexy and Alberto replied that he meant every word. Biting the inside of her mouth in order to not let out a laugh, Renee watched as he again hit on Vickie but in Spanish. She really needed to learn Spanish, she decided. He could've been saying that even a potato sack had more personality than her - referring to Vickie - and she would think it sounded beautiful.

Vickie then floored Alberto by telling him that if he wanted her to reconsider, he needed to kiss her. Renee saw the look on Alberto's face and could tell that he really didn't want to do it, despite the crowd chanting that they wanted it to happen. Watching as Vickie puckered up, Alberto leaned in to place a kiss on Vickie's cheek. Clearly, the GM was disappointed with the placement of Alberto's kiss and told him to kiss her on the lips. He grudgingly did so before Vickie told him to do it like a Mexican. Admittedly curious to see what that entailed, Renee leaned in a little closer as she saw Alberto take Vickie in his arms and dip her, seemingly going in for the kill. Perhaps she could file that one away for future reference.

Alberto watched as Vickie told him that she wanted to try it like the French, or maybe not, with Vickie pointing to her backside, basically telling Alberto to kiss that because she refused to reconsider calling off the Hell in a Cell match. Alberto clearly wanted to say something to the GM but the Money in the Bank contract holder, Damien Sandow, came out to the ring. Surely, he wasn't going to cash in his contract now?!

To Renee's relief, he didn't. He remarked that Alberto was a phoney and that he saw her as a sex object he could manipulate. He was attracted to her intellect. Alberto _knew_ he was going to lose to John Cena at the PPV and that his presence wasn't fitting of a champion. When _he_ became champion, he'd prove that he is a better man. To Renee's surprise, Vickie booked the two of them in a non-title match and Alberto followed that announcement up by taking a cheap shot at Damien, knocking him down. He recovered, grabbed his briefcase, taking a swing at Alberto who slid out of the ring to safety.

Quickly removing Alberto's scarf, Renee made her way to where she was to interview Cody Rhodes and Goldust, who talked about how they were going to defeat the Wyatt Family in their match. Cody welcomed Goldust back before they went to a commercial break, which gave Renee the chance to head back to her locker room, to watch Alberto's match with Damien in relative peace and quiet, making sure that Alberto's scarf was close by, not wanting it to fall on the floor.

The crowd were obviously behind Damien, even more so when he got a hold of Alberto and repeatedly smashed his head into the turnbuckles. Alberto managed to escape and got Damien to chase him back into the ring, which led to Alberto ambushing him in true heel fashion.

The match itself went back and forth several times, before they went to a commercial break after Damien had clotheslined Alberto out of the ring. Once they were back from the ad break, Alberto found himself outside the ring again and partaking in a brawl with the self professed "Uncrowned World Heavyweight Champion," which ended up back in the ring. With the number of two counts after the brawl, and the number of times that Damien managed to evade Alberto's cross armbreaker, Renee knew that he had to be getting frustrated that he couldn't put him away. He tried to escape the ring again but Damien wasn't having a bar of it, grabbing Alberto off the ring apron. Alberto repaid that by kicking the man on his injured leg and finally managing to lock on his cross armbreaker, holding it long enough to gain the submission victory.

Letting out a deep breath, Renee stood up from her chair and once again placed the scarf around her neck. Even though she'd wrap it around a couple of times, it still went past her fingertips but she didn't mind that. It would keep her warm and that was all she really cared about at that point of time.

She made her way out to catering, suddenly realising that she was a little hungry. Finding something to eat and drink, she started making her way back to her locker room when she felt the end of the scarf catch on something. As she turned around to see what it had caught on, she saw that it hadn't really caught on anything but that someone held onto it. Alberto. It had to be.

She looked up to find him looking at her, battle weary having just been in a match, with his usual smile on his face. Vicious was the perfect way to describe him at that point of time.

"I don't think that's going to fill you up very much," he remarked, taking in the little food that Renee had on the plate in her left hand.

"I'm not very hungry, to tell you the truth." She found her already small appetite diminishing the more Alberto looked at her. If he kept looking at her in the way that he was, she was almost ready to jump him and do to him what he had done to Vickie.

"Obviously. Still wearing my scarf, I see. I like that."

He moved closer to Renee as he spoke, noting that her breathing changed slightly. Okay, that was definitely telling him something but he didn't want to press it. He didn't want to press _her_ at that point of time. This wasn't the time or the place for that sort of thing. Anyone could walk past them and deduce all sorts of things from the two of them. Still, he wanted to protect her.

"It keeps me warm. Well, we are heading into winter so at least now I won't have to go out of my way to get one."

"No, you won't."

Looking at the plate of food in her left hand, Renee made a decision to place it on the nearest flat surface, what little appetite she had disappearing. Alberto was certainly good at distracting her from wanting to eat. He watched her as she did that, paying closer attention to the food on the plate and screwing up his face a little.

"What on earth do they call that? I wouldn't give that to my dog - if I had one, of course."

"I don't know actually. Now that I look at it, it doesn't exactly look appealing. I could almost - ALMOST - go for McDonalds. Or Burger King. Or whatever burger joint there is here."

Alberto laughed a little, once again moving closer to Renee, still looking at her, now invading her intimate space. She more than held her own as she looked back at him.

"I was considering going back to the hotel and getting some room service but a burger joint definitely sounds more appealing, I think. Even more so when I have some lovely company."

He looked so hopeful that Renee couldn't help but laugh. She'd never seen that expression on his face before and knew that she couldn't let him down by saying no.

She was thankful that her hotel was within walking distance of the arena and she figured that surely there was a burger joint close to the hotel within walking distance that they could go to.

"If you're wanting to know if I'll agree to having a burger or something with you, then yes, I will."

Alberto smiled at her, leaning down to yet again kiss her cheek. As he slowly pulled away, he said something in Spanish that definitely went over Renee's head.

"_Gracias, little girl. Usted me está haciendo un gran honor."_

Spanish lessons, stat, she decided. He was thanking her - that much she did know. If only she had the ability he had to speak in one language then switch to another and back again. She nodded, knowing that he knew she barely understood a word of what he had said.

"I'm sorry, _little girl._ Sometimes, I forget that not everyone speaks Spanish, let alone can understand what I'm saying. But occasionally, I find being able to express myself easier in Spanish." He shrugged his shoulders before looking up and down the hallway.

Wondering what Alberto was up to, Renee found that she didn't have to wait long.

"Meet me here in about 15 minutes. Then we can go and find a burger place to eat at. How does that sound?"

Renee nodded that it sounded good to her, which it did. Although it did mean that she probably would have to travel in Alberto's car, seeing that she did walk to the arena, but if she was to be honest with herself, she was looking forward to that. She considered them to be friends and friends did hang out, right?

Heading back to the locker room where her purse was, she cast a quick glance at a nearby mirror. There was a slight blush in her cheeks but she couldn't help that. She also couldn't help the sparkle in her eyes that told her she was looking forward to hanging out with Alberto. Perhaps, if she felt she could be bold enough, she'd ask him what he really thought about what had happened in the ring at the start of the show.

Heading back to the spot where she was to meet up with Alberto, Renee could hear laughter and various conversations coming from seemingly every direction. No one else came down to where she stood, leaning against the wall, checking her phone. She was too caught up in that to realise that Alberto had joined her until she saw part of the scarf move out of the corner of her eye. Initially worried, she relaxed when she saw him smiling down at her.

"I thought that was the only way I could get your attention. That or something else."

She laughed a little, although she did find herself wondering what the 'something else' Alberto had in mind was.

"Well, it did get my attention. Thankfully. I get so caught up in this sometimes," she remarked, waving her iPhone around. "It's easily done, I guess."

Alberto nodded. He had felt somewhat better after having his shower but seeing Renee made his mood go up several notches.

"How about we go get that burger then?"

Renee nodded in agreement, waiting for Alberto's hand on the small of her back as they headed towards an exit that would lead them to the car park. They didn't speak until they got to Alberto's rental car, which she liked on sight. Alberto pressed a button on a remote to unlock the car and led Renee to the font passenger door, opening it for her. He waited until she was sitting down and belted up before closing the door and making his way to the boot, placing his small suitcase in it before locking it and making his way to the drivers' door, getting in the car.

As he put the key in the ignition, he turned to face Renee.

"Are you ready for a good time?"

She nodded. Alberto grinned at her before starting the car and pressing another button, making the roof of the car retract. No sooner had it rested where it was supposed to, Alberto drove off, barely pausing to see if anyone was coming before driving off at speed, letting the wind run through Renee's hair. He felt it was worth it seeing the big smile on her face.

They drove around for a while, Alberto testing out the car whenever he had the chance and Renee found herself loving every moment of it. They were still looking out for a burger place that was open and a couple of blocks away from the hotel - Alberto had deliberately gone the wrong way when leaving the arena - they were able to find one that was still open. Alberto parked the car in a well lit area that he deduced could still be seen from the burger place before being a gentleman again and helping Renee out of the car.

They were lucky in that the burger place wasn't too busy so they were able to order their meals and be sitting down at a table eating them within five minutes. It wasn't the kind of place that the rest of the WWE superstars would go to after a show and Alberto liked the relative privacy that it afforded them, because it gave them a chance to talk in some degree of privacy, away from any prying eyes and ears of co-workers.

Sitting back in her seat after finishing off the burger and fries she had gotten - that Alberto had paid for - Renee let out a breath and closed her eyes, tilting her head back. That definitely filled her up and tasted and looked way better than what she was going to have back at the arena.

She forgot that her hand was resting on the table until she felt Alberto grasp it. That made her look at him, curious as to what he was going to do next.

"I don't want you falling asleep here,_ little girl_, so how about we head back to the hotel? A bed would definitely be more comfortable than the chair."

That much was true. Grasping her purse, she stood up and probably only moved a couple of steps before Alberto was once again by her side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he'd left the staff a very generous tip, going by who was on the bill.

Once again, Alberto played the part of the perfect gentleman by allowing her out the door first, opening her car door and closing it before getting in the car himself. He drove straight to the hotel, parking in the car park. Renee got out of the car while he retrieved his suitcase from the boot and they made their way to the elevator, not waiting long for the doors to open, stepping inside and pressing the relevant button for their floor, not speaking until the doors had closed and the elevator started going up.

"We're going to have to do that again sometime, I think."

"Driving around with the top down in the car and the late night burger thing? Yes, I think we should."

"Only next time, I get to drive the car."

"I would like that very much."

A few seconds later, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. Renee stepped out, closely followed by Alberto. Her room was only three doors down and she came to a stop outside it, not really wanting the evening to end. She turned to face Alberto.

"Thank you for a fun evening. I really enjoyed myself."

"I'm glad to hear that, _little girl_. Any time you want to do it again, let me know."

Renee nodded, knowing that she would definitely take Alberto up on that for sure. Slipping her key card into the lock and waiting for it to unlock, she opened the door and took a step inside, turning to face Alberto. He smiled at her before leaning in to give her a hug.

"_Dulces sueños_, _little girl._"

She waited until Alberto was out of sight before closing the door then leaning against it, taking a deep breath then exhaling, closing her eyes as she did so. Oh, her dreams would be sweet that night and she had one person to thank for that.

The one and only Alberto Del Rio.

A/N: Boot = trunk. British English user here.


End file.
